Hurricanes are probably the most destructive of all extreme weather events — a category 5 hurricane is thought to contain the same amount of energy as all the world’s power plants combined. The ability to reduce this power would be a huge benefit. American scientists are looking at ways of cutting off a hurricane’s energy source by using cooking oil. The theory is that aircraft would be used to spray a thin layer of oil over the surface of the ocean. This would help prevent water evaporating into the atmosphere — the process that provides a hurricane with its heat and energy. This would work with any kind of oil, but vegetable oil is considered to be the most environmentally friendly substance. It is thought that using a process similar to cloud seeding could also be used to tame a hurricane by “cooling it down”.
Tropical storms have the power to cause massive destruction and widespread loss of human life, as was demonstrated by last year’s deadly Atlantic hurricane season, which caused hundreds of deaths and $280 billion worth of damage. And as the world warms, scientists think these devastating events will only become more frequent and extreme.
While this idea may seem a little farfetched, Norwegian scientists from SINTEF, the largest independent research organization in Scandinavia, say they have a feasible solution that involves, of all things, blowing cold air bubbles into the sea.
Hurricanes are generated in the tropics when masses of cold and hot air collide with one another. But crucially, the sea surface temperature must be more than 79.7 degrees Fahrenheit, or 26.5 degrees Celsius, for a storm to form.
“Climate change is causing sea surface temperatures to increase,” said Grim Eidnes, a senior research scientist at SINTEF Ocean, in a statement. “The critical temperature threshold at which evaporation is sufficient to promote the development of hurricanes is 26.5 degrees Celsius. In the case of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in the period August to September 2017, sea surface temperatures were measured at 32 degrees Celsius [89.6 degrees Farenheit].”
So, if there were a way to cool the surface temperature to below the magic 79.7 degrees Fahrenheit mark, then, in theory, humans could stop hurricanes.
Various radical solutions have already been proposed to tackle this problem. One suggestion involved towing icebergs from the Arctic into the Gulf of Mexico. Another proposal suggested the use of seeding clouds with salt to make them whiter and therefore more reflective, which would block heat from the sun and reduce sea surface temperatures. Scientists have even tried to use aircraft to release dry ice near hurricanes, in an attempt to increase precipitation, which would release some of their destructive energy.
However, none of these proposals or ideas have been much of a success, according to Eidnes. Now, the SINTEF researchers are developing a relatively simple method, known as a “bubble curtain,” which may prove to be more successful.
The bubble curtain method involves placing perforated pipes below the water before pumping bubbles of compressed air through them. The idea is that the bubbles will rise, taking cold water with them that will cool the surface.
The sintef team say that, ideally, the pipes should be placed between 100 and 150 meters below the surface to ensure that the water being carried to the surface is cold enough.
“By bringing this water to the surface using the bubble curtains, the surface temperature will fall to below 26.5 degrees Celsius, thus cutting off the hurricane’s energy supply,” Eidnes said. “This method will allow us quite simply to prevent hurricanes from achieving life-threatening intensities.”
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